The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

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Friday, May 24, 2013

Vatican
City, 24 May 2013
(VIS) - “The trafficking of persons is an ignoble activity, a
disgrace to our society that calls itself 'civilized'! Exploiters and
clients at all levels should make a serious examination of
conscience, within themselves and before God!” These were the
Pope's words to the participants in the plenary assembly of the
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
People, gathered in Rome to discuss the issue of “The Church's
Pastoral Care in the Context of Forced Migration”.

The
assembly coincides with the publication of the document: “Welcoming
Christ in Refugees and Persons Displaced by Force”, which calls
attention to the millions of refugees, displaced, and stateless
persons. It also addresses the scourge of human trafficking, which
more and more frequently affects children who suffer the worst forms
of abuse, including being forced into armed conflicts.

“Today,”
the pontiff exclaimed, “the Church renews her strong call that the
dignity and centrality of each person be always protected, in respect
of fundamental rights … rights that she asks be concretely extended
to the millions of men and women in every continent whose rights are
not recognized. In a world where there is so much talk of rights it
seems that the only one to have rights is money. … We are living in
a world ruled by money. We live in a world, in a culture ruled by the
fetishism of money.” In this context, the Pope noted that the
dicastery responsible for the pastoral care of migrants and itinerant
people is very worried by “situations where the family of nations
is called to intervene in a spirit of fraternal solidarity with
programmes of protection, often established against the backdrop of
tragic events that almost daily are affecting the lives of many
people. I express my appreciation and my gratitude and encourage you
to continue along the path of service to our poorest and most
marginalized brothers and sisters.”

The
attention of the Church, who is “mother”, is expressed “with
special tenderness and closeness for those forced to flee their
country and live in-between rootlessness and integration. This
tension destroys a person. Christian compassion—this 'suffering
with' [con-passione]—is expressed above all in the commitment to
know about the events that force one to leave their country and,
where necessary, in giving voice to those who are unable to make
their cry of sorrow and oppression heard. In this,” he said to the
assembly's participants, “you carry out an important task, as well
as in making the Christian communities aware of their many brothers
and sisters who are marked by wounds that scar their existence:
violence, abuse of power, distance from family, traumatic events,
flight from home, and uncertainty about their future in refugee
camps. These are all dehumanizing elements and they must compel every
Christian and the entire community to a concrete attention.”

However,
the Holy Father also invited them to also see in the eyes of refugees
and forcibly displaced persons ”the light of hope. It is a hope
that is expressed in expectation for the future, the desire for
friendly relationships, the desire to participate in the society that
is hosting them, even through language learning, access to
employment, and education for the youngest. I admire the courage of
those who hope to gradually resume a normal life, awaiting joy and
love to return and lighten their existence. We all can and must
nurture that hope!”

Finally,
the Pope launched an appeal to governments, legislators, and the
entire international community to face the reality of forcibly
displaced persons “with effective initiatives and new approaches to
safeguard their dignity, to improve the quality of their lives, and
to meet the challenges that emerge from modern forms of persecution,
oppression, and slavery. It is, I emphasize, human persons who appeal
to the solidarity and support, who need urgent measures, but also and
above all who need understanding and goodness. Their condition cannot
leave us indifferent.”

“As
Church,” he concluded, “we remember that when we heal the wounds
of refugees, displaced persons, and victims of trafficking, we are
practising the commandment of love that Jesus has left us; when we
identify with the stranger, with those who are suffering, with all
the innocent victims of violence and exploitation. … Here I would
also like to recall the care that every pastor and Christian
community must have for the journey of faith of Christian refugees
and those forcibly uprooted from their lives, as well as for that of
Christian emigrants. They require special pastoral care that respects
their traditions and accompanies them in a harmonious integration
into the ecclesial reality in which they find themselves. Let us not
forget the flesh of Christ, who is in the flesh of the refugees.
Their flesh is that of Christ.”

Vatican
City, 24 May 2013
(VIS) – Yesterday afternoon in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis
presided at the profession of faith with all the Italian episcopacy
gathered for their 65th general assembly. It was the first
time that the Holy Father met with all the representatives of the
Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), whom he greeted personally, one
by one.

“The
consequence of loving the Lord,” the Pope said to the bishops, “is
giving everything—absolutely everything, even up to our very
lives—for him. This is what must distinguish our pastoral ministry:
it is the litmus test that says how deeply we have embraced the gift
received in responding to Jesus' call and how connected we are to the
persons and the communities that have been entrusted to us. We are
not the expression of an organizational structure or need. Even with
the service of our authority we are called to be marked by the
presence of the Risen Lord, to build the community, therefore, in
fraternal charity. This shouldn't be overlooked, however: even the
greatest love, in fact, when it is not continuously nourished, grows
weak and dies.”

“Lack
of vigilance—we know—makes the shepherd lukewarm, makes him
distracted, forgetful, and even impatient. It seduces him with the
prospect of career, the lure of money, and compromises with the
spirit of the world. It makes him lazy, transforming him into a
functionary, a cleric more worried about self, about organization and
structures than the true good of the People of God. It runs the risk
then, as did the Apostle Peter, of denying the Lord, even though
formally presenting itself as and speaking in his name. It obscures
the holiness of the hierarchical Mother Church, making it less
fruitful.”

“Who
are we, brothers, before God? What are our trials?... As it did for
Peter, Jesus' insistent and heartfelt question can leave us sorrowful
and more aware of the weakness of our freedom, beset as it is by
thousands of internal and external constraints, which often arouse
confusion, frustration, even disbelief. These are certainly not the
feelings or the attitudes that the Lord means to awaken. Instead, the
Enemy, the Devil, takes advantage of them to isolate us in
bitterness, in complaint, and in discouragement. … Jesus, the Good
Shepherd, neither humiliates nor abandons us to remorse. In him, the
Father's tenderness speaks to us, comforting and restoring us. He
leads us from the disintegration of shame—because it is truly shame
that breaks us down—to the fabric of trust, restoring courage,
entrusting us again with responsibility, and delivering us to the
mission.”

"This is why," the Bishop of Rome concluded, "being Shepherds also means being ready to walk amidst the
flock: capable of hearing the silent story of those who suffer and of
sustaining the steps of those who are afraid of not making it;
careful to lift up, to reassure, and to inspire hope. Through sharing
with the poor our faith comes out strengthened. Let us, therefore,
set aside every type of arrogance in order to bow before those whom
the Lord has entrusted to our care. Among these, a special place, a
very special place, let us keep for our priests. Especially for them
our hearts, our hands, and our doors must stay open at all times.
They are the first faithful that we bishops have: our priests.”

Vatican
City, 24 May 2013
(VIS) – Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for
the Oriental Churches will travel to Lebanon from 24 – 28 May,
continuing on to Jordan until 1 June. In addition to attending the
ordination of the new Maronite Bishops of Argentina and Australia on
Sunday, 26 May, he will celebrate Mass at the inter-ritual Shrine of
Our Lady of Zahle with the participation of the Melkite Archbishop
and other pastors of the local Eastern Churches with their respective
faithful. The main intention of the prayer in these circumstances
will be the plea for peace in Syria, Lebanon, and the entire Middle
East.

In
the following days, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches will meet with the Maronite, Melkite, Syrian, and Armenian
patriarchs as well as some religious communities, especially the
young volunteers of Caritas Lebanon who, along with other
humanitarian organizations, are attempting to deal with the enormous
tragedy of refugees fleeing Syria.

The
visit to Jordan will also be devoted to meeting the pastors and
faithful of the various Catholic communities, especially that of the
Greek Melkite communities in Petra and Philadelphia and the Latin
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose territory extends throughout the
country. On Thursday, 30 May, the cardinal will attend the
inauguration of the University of Madaba, belonging to the Latin
Patriarchate of Jerusalem. His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan is
expected to attend. Before returning to Rome, the Cardinal will visit
a camp of refugees who have fled from Syria and other Middle Eastern
regions.

To
all, pastors and faithful, the government and the peoples of Lebanon
and Jordan, reads a press release, “the cardinal will bring the
affectionate greeting, sharing in the worries and the sorrows of
these regions, of Pope Francis, and imparting the Apostolic Blessing
as a pledge of closeness and hope in the Lord for the countries of
the entire Middle Eastern region.”

Vatican
City, 24 May 2013
(VIS) – Today the Holy Father erected the new diocese of Dolisie
(area 25,930, population 210,000, Catholics 71,000, priests 32,
religious 3) Democratic Republic of the Congo, with territory taken
from the Diocese of Nkayi, making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese
of Brazzaville. He appointed Fr. Bienvenu Manamika Bafouakouahou as
first bishop of the new diocese. Bishop-elect Manamika Bafouakouahou,
previously vicar general of the Diocese of Kinkala, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, was born in Brazzaville in 1964 and was
ordained a priest in 1993. Since ordination he has served in several
pastoral and diocesan level roles, most recently, since 2004, as
episcopal delegate for diocesan Caritas and coordinator of the
Sant'Agostino Seminary of Kinkala.